Finish the Book For Christmas

As the holidays grow close and with the fact that there is only a month and a half before the year is out, I feel the need to try and power through as many books as I can to raise my yearly books read count as I can. Sure, it isn’t a contest and I’m not comparing myself to anyone but myself from the previous year, but either way if it ever has a chance to come up, it’s not impressive to say I read ten books this year (well maybe to someone who doesn’t read). Though I have already passed the ten book mark by a good amount, I always try my best to have the largest number I can and hope I can beat my amount from the previous year. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t.

This might seem silly, but it’s a fun challenge for myself and motivates me to do what I enjoy. Can’t be slacking when I have a previous record to crush! The last several years I have used Goodread’s yearly challenge to set a goal for myself and keep track of the books I have read each year. It starts on the first day of the year and ends on the last day of December. Which makes sense. Normal people would probably choose to mark their yearly book count based on the calendar year. However, I used to be a weirdo and mark my year based on the last day being Christmas eve and the first day being Christmas. And, I had to finish whatever book I was on, on Christmas eve if at all possible. That was my method all through middle school and high school. 

Again, that might sound very weird since the end of the year is just around the corner at that point so why should I make Christmas day start the yearly count? Plus, why did I need to finish my last book on that day instead of just counting it as the next year’s book? The reason is simple. I often got several books as Christmas gifts, and I always found myself so excited by the new books. I would want to start a new one right away. If I was in the middle on a book, I couldn’t start a new one, so I had to finish whatever I was in the middle of by then.

Well, I’m sure you realize that Past Amy didn’t really think things through logically and realize that being ready to start a new book on Christmas didn’t really affect my book counting. I could have still counted through the normal calendar year and just make sure I finished my book by Christmas day. I just always felt like it was a good way to start fresh. I would start a new book and start the new count of books for my year.

Nowadays, I don’t get as many books as gifts. My parents and family realize I can afford books on my own, and I easily get many novels on my kindle from the library and kindle unlimited. This has led my family to focus their gifting efforts in a different direction. Now, I count the year like a normal person (I guess unless counting my books isn’t normal in and of itself… hmm).

So, I’m curious. Do you guys count how many books you’ve read every year? If so, do you count based on the calendar year or some other time table? Are you like me and have personal challenges with yourself or maybe with your friends and family? I’d love to hear about your own book counting adventures and motivations!